OldBoldPilot
06-24-2017, 11:35 AM
I do believe I have the only PM9 of its kind in existence. Here's how it happened:
About a year ago now I decided to buy a PM9, and hied myself off to my local FFL here in Southern California to order one. The dealer simply assumed that the CA-approved model was the same as the MA model (they usually are), and ordered me that one from the distributor. It came with the magazine disconnect, the external safety, and the shorter, better trigger.
Fast forward a month or two and I'm at the range, and notice that the pin holding the trigger assembly in place was "walking out" every time I fired a few rounds. This was reason to call Kahr and send it back for repair.
Well, I waited, and waited, and waited some more to hear from Kahr, and finally I called to ask what was taking so long. After being shunted around a bit I was connected with a very nice woman who explained that while the gun had been repaired they couldn't ship it back to me. Why? Because it was in fact NOT the correct, California-approved version. The correct version would have been the 49-state model. The repair had necessitated a frame change, which meant a serial number change, which meant it was essentially a new gun and therefore couldn't be shipped to California as it was not approved. My FFL had sold me the wrong version!
"Where do we go from here?" I asked Kahr. Their response was that they would send me a brand new, 49-state, California-approved version. The good news was that it wouldn't have the external safety or mag disconnect. The bad news was that it would have the interminably long (comparatively speaking) trigger pull. "Uh uh," I said. I told them I would take the 49-state gun, but I wanted the short trigger that comes in the safety models.
Oh, no, they said. Impossible. Completely different set of parts, different assembly line, and anyway we just don't ever do that. "Do it anyway," I said, "for the sake of good customer relations." Well, they kicked it around every which way, and finally kicked it upstairs, where someone apparently said "just do it to shut this guy up and keep him happy." And, after extensive delays and discussions, they did. Keep in mind, they didn't (and still won't) retrofit the short trigger into an existing gun; they simply built the new gun with the short trigger, stealing the parts from a different assembly line.
And that is how I came to have a unicorn, the only 49-state PM9 with the factory short trigger and no external safety.
I've seen the posts on this trigger, and many of those who've never felt it opine that it could barely make a difference. Wrong. It makes a huge difference in trigger feel (I have three other Kahrs for comparison). So much so that if I were buying a PM9 today and had the chance to buy a MA version with this trigger, that's how I would go. I will never sell this gun.
P.S. If you call Kahr and tell them this story, they'll say it never happened. It happened.
About a year ago now I decided to buy a PM9, and hied myself off to my local FFL here in Southern California to order one. The dealer simply assumed that the CA-approved model was the same as the MA model (they usually are), and ordered me that one from the distributor. It came with the magazine disconnect, the external safety, and the shorter, better trigger.
Fast forward a month or two and I'm at the range, and notice that the pin holding the trigger assembly in place was "walking out" every time I fired a few rounds. This was reason to call Kahr and send it back for repair.
Well, I waited, and waited, and waited some more to hear from Kahr, and finally I called to ask what was taking so long. After being shunted around a bit I was connected with a very nice woman who explained that while the gun had been repaired they couldn't ship it back to me. Why? Because it was in fact NOT the correct, California-approved version. The correct version would have been the 49-state model. The repair had necessitated a frame change, which meant a serial number change, which meant it was essentially a new gun and therefore couldn't be shipped to California as it was not approved. My FFL had sold me the wrong version!
"Where do we go from here?" I asked Kahr. Their response was that they would send me a brand new, 49-state, California-approved version. The good news was that it wouldn't have the external safety or mag disconnect. The bad news was that it would have the interminably long (comparatively speaking) trigger pull. "Uh uh," I said. I told them I would take the 49-state gun, but I wanted the short trigger that comes in the safety models.
Oh, no, they said. Impossible. Completely different set of parts, different assembly line, and anyway we just don't ever do that. "Do it anyway," I said, "for the sake of good customer relations." Well, they kicked it around every which way, and finally kicked it upstairs, where someone apparently said "just do it to shut this guy up and keep him happy." And, after extensive delays and discussions, they did. Keep in mind, they didn't (and still won't) retrofit the short trigger into an existing gun; they simply built the new gun with the short trigger, stealing the parts from a different assembly line.
And that is how I came to have a unicorn, the only 49-state PM9 with the factory short trigger and no external safety.
I've seen the posts on this trigger, and many of those who've never felt it opine that it could barely make a difference. Wrong. It makes a huge difference in trigger feel (I have three other Kahrs for comparison). So much so that if I were buying a PM9 today and had the chance to buy a MA version with this trigger, that's how I would go. I will never sell this gun.
P.S. If you call Kahr and tell them this story, they'll say it never happened. It happened.